GENIUS FORUMS

A group of young children were asked about marriage...

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
- Kirsten, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
- Camille, age 10

No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married.
- Freddie, age 6

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
Both don't want any more kids.
- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
- Linette, age 8

On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
- Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
- Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
When they're rich.
- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
- Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.
- Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
I don't know which is better, but I'll tell you one thing. I'm never going to have sex with my wife. I don't want to be all grossed out.
- Theodore, age 8

It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
- Anita, age 9

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
- Kelvin, age 8

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty even if she looks like a truck.
- Rick, age 10

That was hilarious and Freddie is a budding genius:

No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married.

Dan Rowden wrote:That was hilarious and Freddie is a budding

Personally I think this kid got it

I don't know which is better, but I'll tell you one thing. I'm never going to have sex with my wife. I don't want to be all grossed out.
- Theodore, age 8

"Most men are brainless, so you might have to try more than one to find a live one." - Angie L. age 10

How Would the World Be Different if People Didn't Get Married?

"You can be sure of one thing - the boys would come chasing after us just the same as they do now!" - Roberta, age 7

Actually, some of the quotes I'm finding look as if they've been "touched up" a bit with more adult language.

Dan Rowden wrote:Actually, some of the quotes I'm finding look as if they've been "touched up" a bit with more adult language.

yeah "be sure of one thing" doesn't sound very child-like. Oh well.

Most of those are imitations of their parents, I would think. Or TV or whatever.

Matt Gregory wrote:Most of those are imitations of their parents, I would think.

we are brainwashing our kids.
Ah well.. at least I guess its better than some things we could teach them.

It's probably unintentional. I think that's what's so funny about those quotes.

Matt Gregory wrote:It's probably unintentional. I think that's what's so funny about those quotes.

oh yeah, but I suspect most of the brainwashing we do to our kids are unintentional.

My fundamentalist-Baptist grandmother used to read me passages from the Bible when I was a kid and it was all very emotional for me. I consider that brainwashing, but do you think it was intentional?

Is it possible for Freddie, of 6, to be so wise?

Depends how screwed up his parent's marriage is, I reckon. But again, re: the adult influence - I'm not sure a 6 year old would use the word "fool" in such a context, but I suppose it depends somewhat on the environment.

I guess "The 'A' Team" didn't play in Austrailia in the 80's. I could never stomach an entire episode of it myself, yet even I knew that it was the influence of the pop-culture icon "Mr. T." when kids younger than that parrotted out "Don't be a fool." By the time they're 6, they have enough of an idea of what a fool is to use it properly in a sentence, even if they don't yet comprehend the full meaning of the term.

The kid could also have parrotted something one of his parents said around the time of a divorce.

Ah, yes, I forgot about Mr T and his "fool" folly. But I guess that counts as an environmental influence.